That's a question almost everyone wants to ask, says Phil West, deputy
education director at NASA's Johnson Space Center. And the answer?
You can find it--along with the answers to many other questions--at
NASA's Brain BitesTM website.

"We get a lot of frequently asked questions at NASA," says
West, "and some not-so-frequently asked, but still very interesting,
questions." Brain Bites, one-minute video clips, try to have
some fun with those topics.

Brain Bites, says West, can be used by teachers to introduce or illustrate
a topic -- like the special problems involved in asking someone for
a date on Mars! But the clips are also designed for folks who are
just browsing the web.

They're meant, says West, to give people unusual and intriguing information.
Some clips focus on basic scientific questions such as "why do
we see only one side of the Moon?" Or "can you hear a spaceship
fly by?" Others give glimpses of the way astronauts live. One
video, for instance, explains why spacesuits are so hard to move in
(think of bending a blown-up balloon); another takes viewers down
into the swimming pool where astronauts train. Some were even shot
onboard the "Vomit Comet," a plane that flies in a way that,
briefly, eliminates the effects of gravity.

One of the most popular videos, says West, explains how to tighten a
bolt in space. "We wanted to communicate why you need a foot restraint
when you work in low gravity." In the video, which was shot on
the Vomit Comet, West attempts to turn the bolt, but--surprise!--he
spins instead.

Each 60-second Brain Bite requires a team of about 6 to 10 people,
and takes about one to two months to make. College students Alex Lewis
and Shannon Jurkoshek do most of the acting; Terry Longbottom and Tim
Allen are the lead producers.

Right now, about 15 Brain Bites are on the website, but new ones
are being added all the time. "We've already taped quite a few
more," says West. Coming attractions include sonic booms, satellite
orbits, and lifting weights in space.